Intermittent film-feeding mechanism.



H. M. CONNOR & D. D. MILES.

INTERMITTENT FILM FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLlCATION FILED MAY 20. 1916.

Patented May 29, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

/ /0 I) O 1 1 M g Q WWO Wm 60727201 a H. M. CONNOR & D. D. MILES.

INTERMITTENT FILM FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY20. I916.

1 227 8870 Patented May 29, 191?.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Hlllllliii' dunin: El /MC 80222107 w ll Sillld NT mscmn M. CONNOR AND DON 1). MILES. OF SAN FRANCISCO. CALEORNIA, ASSIGNORS, BY nmne'r AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, F TWO-FINES T0 ALBERT H. manner, ONE-m T0 PANSY I. CONNOR. ONE-FIFTH T0 MYRTLE C. MILES, AND ONE-FIFTH TO B. J. GRAF, ALL OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNM nt'rnmrrnn'r rmn-rnnnme tanennnrsnr.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May an. ma

Application filed na ac, 191$.L Serial No. 98,882.

To all whom c't may concern: I

Be v it known that we, Hnnscrmn M. Cox- NOR and Don D. MILES. both citizens of the vide a device of this character especially useful in taking and projecting moving pictures, and which will be simple in construction. comparatively inexpensive to. manufacture, and moreiefiicient in action than those heretofore proposed. y With these and other ob ects in view, the

invention consists in the, novel details of construction and combinations'of parts more fully hereinafter disclosedand. particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the Figure l is a diagrammatic elevational view partly in section of a film feedm g mechanism made in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational' view of the parts shown in Fig. 1 as seen from the left of said figure; N

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 showing the parts about to engage the film preparatory to feeding it in a downward direction;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the position of the parts after the film has been engaged and it is about to start on its downward movement; V P

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the parts after having completed I their downward feeding motion;

Fig: 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 but showing the'position of the parts upon disengaging the film;

- Fig. ,7 is a detail view'of the feeding mechanism showing the adjustment of the parts to accommodate pictures that have lleen' placed in difi'erent positions on the Fig. 8 illustrates one position of the pi'cthe film feeding sprockets, the .movin parts of the shutter as. well as the film ceding devices proper. 9 represents a shaft for operating the film feeding sprocket 10, 11 the/shaft for operating the film feeding sprocket 12,13 a bevel gear meshing with the bevel pinion 14 operating the sleeve 15 carryingthe revolving portions of the shut ter 16, and 12' represents the film passing aroundthe sprocket 10 between the guides 18 and 19 to form the loop 20 and passing down between the aperture plate 21 and the curved plate-like film guide 22, all as will be clear from the drawings.

,T he aperture plate 21 is provided with the slots 24 through which pass the film feeding pins 25 carried by the feeding lever 26 provided with the slot 27 in which slides the block 28. Rigid with the gear 7 is the driving shaft 30 extending throughthe balance wheel 31, through the pillar block 32,

( see Figs. 2 and 7), and carrying beyond said pillar block the, circular shoulder 34: integral with the cam 35'provided with the pin 36 mounted in the above mentioned slid ing block 28 and adapted to reciprocate the same in the slot 27 as the cam 35 and shaft 30 rotates Also mounted on the feeding lever 26 are the roller members 37 and 38 provided with the pins 39 and 40 respectively. As the said cam 35 rotates. it constantly contacts with the roller 37 while the spring-l1 secured as at 42 to the frame work constantly bears against the pin 40 and thereby exerts a pressure which maintains at all times the contact with the said roller 37 and the said cam 35. The effect of this arrangement of parts is to move the lever 26 up and down on the pivot l3 and also to cause the same to slide longitudinally of its length on said pivot which is located in the slot 44, or in other words, to move said lever 26 and the feeding pin 25 in and out of the film 1?, all as will be clear from the drawings.

llhe particular function of the spring 41 is to maintain a yielding firm contact with the cam 35 and roller 37 in the above described movements, so that no jarrlng or rattling will occur during'the feeding operation. On the other hand, should the spring 41 break, the cam 35 will strike the roller 3? and the roller 38 alternately and still continue to feed the film, although in such case more or less noise will occur.

It .will be observed that the parts are so arranged that should they be in the position shown in Fig. 3, and should the cam. 35 be turning in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in said figure, the pin 25 will be moved longitudinally of the lever and will be projected through one of the openings 45in the film 17 and into the substantial position shown in Fig. 4. The crank pin 36 will now cause said feeding pin 25 to move downward through the slot 24 in the aperture plate 21 and also through the slot 46 in the 'guide plate 22 until the said pin attains about the position illustrated in Fig. 5.

After having passed the said position shown in Fig. 5, the cam 35 continuing to revolve in a counter-clockwise direction will permit the spring 41 to withdraw the pin 25 outof the perforations 45 and the slots 46 and 24 so that it will occupy substantially the position shown in Fig. 6. A continued revolution of the cam 35 and crank pin 36 will now raise the said lever 26 around its pivot43, whereupon the pin 25 will be brought back to about the position.

often happens that pictures such as 51 are placed on films such as 17 with their border lines 52 extending between the centers of opposite perforations 45 all as will be clear from Fig. 8. It also often happens that pictures such as 56 are so located that their border lines 53 extend between the centers of the spaces 54 between said perforations 45, as will be clear from film 57.

In other words. pictures are frequentlydisplaced longitudinally of the film by a distance'equal to about one half of the space 54 between the driving-perforations 45. In such case, since the feeding pins 25 have 3.

fixed distance of travel up and down, if

they are properly set to'feed pictures located on a film 17 as is indicated in Fig. 8,

said pins 25 would continuously improperly feed pictures such as 56 located on a film such as 57 shown in Fig. 9.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide means by which a machine such as that made the subject of this application will be enabled to feed films such as 17 or such as 57 with indifference or with equal efficiency.

In order to accomplish this desirable pur- 43 may be movedup and down, so that the initial or stationary position of the pivot maybe located at different distances from.

the base 61, and so that therefore, the said feeding pins 25 will begin their downward motions at points corresponding to the adj usted positions of the pivots 43.

stated in still other language, should thepins 25 be properly adjusted for feeding a. film such as 17 and should a film such as 57 be threaded into the machine it would only be necessary to raise or lower the pivot 43 by a distance sufficient to change the initial position of the pin 25 through a distance equal to one half the distance of the space 54. After such adjustments have been made then the'film 57 will be fed by the pins 25 in such a way asto always bring the centers of the pictures 56 to coincide with the center of the aperture. This is an important feature of the invention, because it enables the operator by the simple turning of the nut 62 to insure a proper feeding of films such as 57 without the necessity of having to change the aperture itself, or the optical axis of the lens.

It will be further observed that the curved slot 46 greatly aids in accomplishing this desirable result, for should a straight slot be employed, and' should the. feeding pins 25 be made to travel over two different arcs, displaced with reference to each other, in the manner just disclosed, it is evident that the extremity of one are or the other would be positioned so far awayfrom said straight slot as to render the engagements and disengagem'ents between said pins 25 and. said perforations 45 extremely uncertain. No such uncertainty exists when a. curved slot 46is employed, and when the said adjustment is made at right angles to the lever 26. or lengthwise of. the slot 46 as disclosed.-

In the drawings 65 represents the aperture or optical axis of the lens, 66 the aper ture tube, 67 the film gate, 68 the diaphragm or shutter aperture, 69 the shutter plate, 70

a shaft for turning through the gear 5, the bevel gear 13 and shutter 16. H

The operation of the mace will be clear from the foregoing but may be briefly summarized as follows v i The film 17 being threaded through the camera as indicated in Fig. I, the crank 2 is turned, and through the train of gears illustrated and by specific connections, not, shown. the sprockets 10 and12 are COIlfillllously turned with the crank 2 and the filni' is continuously fed out around the sprocket l2. The shaft is turned through the pinion I and the same being rigid with the cam 3a and crank pin 36, the said cam reciprocates thefeeding pin 25 while at the same time the crank pin 36 swings the feeding lever 26 on its pivot 43 so that the said pin 25 starting in the position shown in F ig. 3 succemively attains the positions shown in Figs 4. 5 and 6. whereupon it returns to the position shown in Fig. 3.

In other words, the said feeding pins 25 move in and out of the perforations l5,

' said feeding pins 25 will feed the .fihn 5? as accurately as the film 1i; Stated in other language. pictures such as are displaced on a film as are the pictures 56 shown in F ig. 9. ruay have their centers accurately brought to coincide with the optical axis of the camera by the simple means of adjusting the nut 62 and thus the trouble and annoyance of having to adjust the aperture and optical alvis of the lens is avoided. In addition to the above. the spring 41 maintains a firm and yielding contact between the roller 37 and cam thus also avoiding any impactbetween said cam and roller. as well as noise On the other hand. should the and wear. spring 41 break. then the cam 35 will force the lever 26 in one direction by contacting with the roller 3? and will positively force it in the opposite direction by contacting with the roller 38. so that the breaking of the spring does not in the least interfere with the operation of the feed.

Another important feature of this invention resides in the fact that this feed is especially adapted for a compact form of carnera occupying only relatively a very small space and which is suitable for both professional and amateur use.- In such a camera the saving of space is an important item and we are enabled to economize space in this feed by mak ng the plates 21 and 22 cur ed as at so that the upper portion of the said plalcs lettered 21 and 22. are thrown farther to the left as seen in Fig. 1, than otherwise would be the case. which enables us to locate the sprockets l0 and 12 as well as the other moving parts of the camera far ther to the left than would otherwise be poxible. 'I he result is the said moving parts of the camera occupy a space that is much smaller than it would be possible for them to occupy were the parts T5 in the same straight line with the parts 21 and 22.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details .of constructions as well as the arrangement of parts without departing from tlrespirit of the invention a and therefore we do not wish to be limited to the above" disclosure except as may he required by the claims:

IVhat we claim is I. In a film feeding mechanism the combination of a cru'ved plate provided with a slot and adapted to guide a film having perforations; a pivoted lever having film feeding means adapted .to enter said slot and perforations: means for reciprocating said film feedrng means lengthwise of said slot;

means for adjusting the pivot of said lever lengthwise of said slot: and means for reciprocating said feeding means into and out of said slot and perforations. substantially as described.

In a; feeding mechanism the combi nation of a plate having a curved slot and adapted to guide a perforated film; a pivoted lever having film feeding means: means for adjusting the pivot of said lever lengthwise of said slot. arevolving crank adapted to reciprocate said feeding means lengthwise of said dot: and a cam adapted to reciprocate said feeding means transversely of said slot. substantially as described.

3. In a film feeding mechanism the com- A bination of a curved plate provided with a slot and adapted to guide a having perforations; a pivoted lever having film feeding means adapted to enter said slot and perforations: means for reciprocating said film feeding means lengthwise of said slot;

mearm for reciprocating said feeding means into and out of said slot and perforations: and means for adjusting the posih'on of the pivot of said lever lengthwise of said slot. substantially as described.

4. In a film feeding mechanism the com* bination of a plate having a curved slot and adapted to guide a perforated film; a pivoted lever having film feeding means: a revolving crank adapted to reciprocate said feeding means lengthwise of said slot; a cam adapted to reciprocate said feeding means transversely'of said slot: and means for adjusting the position of the pivot of said lever lengthwise of said slot, subdantially as described.

' 5. In an intermittent film feed. the combi nation of a plate having a cru-ved slot. a feeding lever having a pivot and a feeding in opposite directions transverse to its.

len th' a cani for lnovin said lever in o Q 7 posite dlrectlons longitudinally; and means for moving the pivot of said lever lengthwise of said slot to change the transverse path of travel of said point, substantially as described.

6. In an intermittent film feed, the combination of a feeding lever having a pivot and a 'feeding point; a crank: pin and sliding block for moving said leverin opposite directions transverse to its length; a cam and spring for moving said lever in opposite directions longitudinally; and means comprising an adjust-able support for moving the pivot of said lever at right angles to its length to change the transverse path of travel of said point, substantially as described.

T. In a film feed. the combination of a. film feeding lever adapted to feed films carrying pictures located in predetermined positions relative to their perforations; and means for changing the position of the pivot of said lever in a direction lengthwise of said films to cause itto feed films having pictures located in other predetermined positions with relation to said perforations, substantiallv as described.

S. In a film feed. the combination of a lever provided with a. reciprocating film feeding point adapted to feed films. carrying pictures located in predetermined positions relative to their perforations; and means comprising an adjustable support for changing the position of the pivot of said lever in a direction lengthwise of said films contact with said roller; and means for adjusting the position of said second named block and pivot. substantially as described. 10. In a film feed the combination of a slotted guide plate; a lever provided with a pair of slots and a film feeding point; a;

slidingblock located in one of said slots; a pivot block over which said lever may slide located in the other slot: a crank pin con nected to said first named block, adapted to reciprocate said point longitudinally of its corresponding slot: a roller carried said lever; a cam associated with said crank pin adapted to contact with said roller to move said pointtransversely ofsaid last named slot: and means for adjusting the position of said second named block and pivot'to enable said point to feed films having pictures relatively displaced longitudinally of said films. substantiall as described.

In testimony' whereof we aflix our signatures, in presence of two witnesses.

. HERSCHEL M. COXXOR.

DOS D. BHIJES. Witnesses:

GERALD A. GRIFFIN,

C. F. Wants. 

